Back in sunny Perth

In February 2009, I embarked on a working holiday visa to Australia. Almost exactly 10 years later, I returned to my favourite city to catch up with friends and see what has changed in the most remote big city on the planet – Perth in Western Australia.

I still remember miserably watching out of the window from my office in Luxembourg late in 2008, wishing I could escape the rain and the grey skies. I had always dreamt of working abroad, but coming from a place just under half an hour from the border between Germany and Luxembourg, working there and commuting from Germany didn’t quite cut it for me anymore. I googled ‘working abroad’ and the first result that came up was the working holiday in Australia, eligible to Germans until before they turned 31 at the time. I was 29, and it seemed like a sign. Three months later, I was on my way.

For whatever reason I’d always thought I’d spent the “work”-part of my visa in Sydney, but landing there on 22^nd Febuary 2009, and after a week of sightseeing, I didn’t feel like settling just yet. I moved on to Melbourne, Adelaide, the Red Centre and Tasmania, and landed in Perth after three incredible months of improvised travelling.

I felt at home in Perth straightaway. The city is more laid-back than Sydney or even Melbourne, the palm-tree lined roads are wide and spacious, the skies are nearly always blue and the beaches are endless, with white, fine sand and a constant breeze. The first hostel I checked in (and at the same time, the only hostel I have ever staid in in Perth) was the perfect place for making friends: Oneworldbackpackers was a heritage house that felt more like a large shared home than a hostel, people tended to stay long-term while working in the city. I worked on and off in the hostel for free accommodation for several months, sometimes on top of my day job – just because I genuinely enjoyed living there so much that I didn’t want to move out and get my own place. It was like living with a big group of friends. Life was easy and good.

Today, I feel just as much at home as I always did in Perth. The evening air is still as warm as if it was coming straight out of a blow dryer when my friend Becky is picking me up from the airport to drop me at Liam’s place, all of us former residents of Oneworldbackpackers. I’ll be fortunate enough to be spending the next two weeks in Perth, working remotely for the company I’m with in London, and I can’t wait to see how Perth has changed.

On that note, Liam and I just rescued the backtable, a real piece of history from the dump. Check it out here!

Some of my all-time favourite spots in Perth

Kings Park

During one of my first nights, we head to Kings Park, Perth’s city park on steroids on Mount Eliza for the “Festival of Lights” (more on that later). Kings Park is a 400.6-hectare park offering panoramic views of the central business district, the Swan River and Darling Range. The park is a mixture of grassed parkland, botanical gardens and natural bushland. It’s home to over 324 native plant varieties as well as lots of bird species and it’s being visited by over five million people each year. I can’t count the number of times I have been to this magical place, for picnics, walks, or just to take in the fabulous views of the city. I’m glad to see that the city skyline has changed somewhat but the relaxed vibe of the place remains the same.

The beaches

Perth has an abundance of utterly beautiful and not very busy beaches to choose from. Many people love Fremantle, a very laid-back beach suburb featuring a regular market and a great brewery, Little Creatures. During my hostel times, and whilst not having a car at hand, the most accessible beaches were Scarborough Beach and Cottesloe. Although Scarborough was the closest to get to, it’s quite busy so I always preferred cute little Cottesloe. This time, thanks to my friends Liam and Becky lending me their cars whenever I fancy driving somewhere (I mean how lucky am I?), I get to see a lot more of Perth’s beautiful beaches with very little other people around, my favourites being Mullaloo Beach, Whitfords Beach, North Beach and Trigg Beach.

It can get very windy at the beaches in Perth, especially as from around 4 pm, due to the Fremantle Doctor. This is the nickname for the cooling afternoon sea breeze which occurs during summer months. It occurs because of the major temperature difference between the land and sea. So whilst I thought I was being clever working in the morning and then heading to the beach in the afternoon, many locals head out early in the morning for surfing or beach times instead.

Northbridge & the Central Business District (CBD)

I’m so glad to see that Perth has lost none of its’ laid-back feel – although recent developments have given the city a much more metropolitan vibe, securing Perth place 11 worldwide and coming first within Australia on Forbes most recent “Top Destinations 2019” list.

Northbridge is Perth’s main nightlife district and has such has always been a bustling location. Whilst I’m glad to see that one of our old favourites, The Mustang Bar, is still cramped and featuring live music most nights, and the food court is still serving the Asian grub we used to indulge in back in the old days, the Northbridge Piazza wasn’t there ten years ago. This open-air communal space is used as a venue to show free movies, live music performances, and broadcasts of popular sporting events. The large Northbridge Brewing Company is another great addition to the mix, featuring many great craft brews. The Moon on Williams Street is a retro diner-style venue for live bands, jazz and poetry, plus beer on tap, burgers and pizza. We got there for The Night Squad Jam, an amazing jam session that only happens every last Thursday of the month, featuring many amazing musicians and singers.

Things to do around Perth

There are many great things to do around Perth – stay tuned over the next weeks to hear about e.g. wine tours into the Swan Valley wine region, the Perth Hills and meeting quokkas in Rottnest Island.